Also a new tiger salamander owner

[melgado22]

A friend ofine gave me 2 tiger salamanders. They have been in a 10 gallon tank with sloping gravel and water on one end. I just moved them to a 20 gal, added about 4-5 inches of coconut fiber ****, made 2 cork wood dig-outs, and a pie pan with water on one end. Before transferring, I went ahead and fed them a few crickets. I guess they aren't very active otherwise?? They just kind of lay around.. Super cute though. One is pretty docile and let's me hold it, the other is a bit more squirrely. I guess they aren't supposed to have a heat lamp though right? And any suggestions on acceptable plant types? Thanks!!

 

[melgado22]

Here's the other one

 

[sde]

The setup sounds pretty good. The substrate could stand to be a bit deeper though. No, they aren't very active in the day time. They burrow a lot too, and so sometimes they are underground for long periods of time, so you might not se them all that much. I would recommend not handling them unless absolutely necessary, as the oils in your skin is harmful to them. Also, it will most likely do nothing but stress them. No heat lamp. They like is cool. Their ideal temperature range is between 65-72 F. Pothos plants are supposed to be easy to grow. Ferns and moss give the setup a nice natural look as well.
They look well fed

 

[Asevernnnn]

Also rather than crickets I would switch to nightcrawlers, chopped in half if needed to. Crickets aren't very good nutritionally and can bite given the chance.
And don't be surprised if they stay in burrows for a few weeks, its perfectly normal. Also since theres 2 tigers, adding more substrate might be a good idea.

 

[melgado22]

Great, thank you for the help. I have a small container of earth worms in the fridge awaiting they ate the crickets really fast, I wasn't watching them the whole time but I realized afterwards the pebbles were just the right size for them to accidentally ingest... Oops.. If they stop eating that would be a sign of ingestion right?